Dear Santa,
When I was a kid, I wrote to you almost every year. My father told me I was a bad boy, but my mother said I was good. Obviously, you agreed with my father.
When I was five, I asked for a coloring book and crayons. Instead, I got empty beer cans, a drunk father, and a black eye.
When I was six, I asked for a baby brother. I got a crying mother after father beat her until she miscarried.
When I was seven, I asked for rollerskates. I was called ungrateful and slept outside for a night.
When I was eight, I asked for my mother to live. The cancer claimed her on Christmas Eve.
When I was nine, I couldn't write because my father had broken my arm. I didn't write for a few years after that either.
When I was fifteen, I wrote one last letter. I asked for my father to die. You finally gave me what I wanted and he was killed during a bar fight.
Now my so is dead, Sara divorced me, and I have no family. If I could ask for a family for Christmas, I would.
From, Jack
Jack crumpled the piece of paper and threw it toward the garbage can, missing by a few inches. Shrugging, he picked up his pen and wrote a new letter.
Dear Santa,
I wan a new fishing pole.
From, Jack
He folded it and sealed it in an envelope addressed to Santa. Rolling his eyes, he got up to take the envelope to Janet. She and Cassie would be "sending" letters to Santa from all of the SGC staff members.
~~/~@
Daniel had just finished his letter to Santa and went to see if Jack had finished his.
"Hey Jack, are you- oh..." Daniel cut himself off when he was that Jack's office was empty. He noticed a paper that missed the garbage can and went to pick it up. He caught the words 'Dear Santa' and decided to take a peek. What does Jack want for Christmas?
As he read the letter, his frowned and he bit his bottom lip (AN: that's so cute!). He'd never known this about Jack's childhood. He stuffed the letter into his pocket, when he finished reading it and left to go give his own letter to Janet.
~~/~@
The SGC had a Christmas Eve partyand Jack got a fishing pole from Santa. Cassie was amazed at the similarity between Santa and General Hammond. She was also a bit dissappointed that the General had stepped out and missed it.
Daniel could see that Jack was not really having as much fun as he usually did at other parties. He figured that it could be attributed to Jack's not-so-wonderful Christmases in his past. He was determined to change Jack's feelings about Christmas and was getting excited about the surprise he had planned for Christmas Day.
After a few hours of socializing and watching Jack from the corner of his eye, Daniel decided that they'd made enough of an appearance. He grabbed Jack and they both said their goodbyes and went home. ~~/~@
Jack woke up on Christmas morning to the smell of coffee and hot cocoa. 'Daniel's awake' was his first coherent thought before he got out of bed. He pulled on a pair of jeans and was going to go kiss Daniel and say good morning. He froze onc he stepped out of the bedroom though. His house, which was plain the night before, was now covered in red and green decorations. There was a Christmas tree in the living room and soft tunes of classical Christmas music played in surround sound.
"Wha- huh?" he muttered.
"Good morning, Jack. Merry Christmas," Daniel came out of the kitchen and greeted Jack with an amused smile. He handed Jack a mug of hot cocoa and kissed him on the cheek before taking a sip of his coffee.
"Daniel... I didn't know that you wanted to celebrate. You could have told me and I would have-"
"You gonna open your presents?" Daniel interrupted him.
"Pres- my presents?"
"Yeah. Those colorful boxes under the tree." Daniel was clearly having fun with this. He sat on the coush, took a long drink from his coffee, and waited for Jack to open the presents.
Still confused, but now curious, Jack sat down next to the tree and grabbed the first box. He unwrapped it and was surprised to see a pair of roller blades.
"Wow... thanks Daniel. These are great," Jack sincerely said. More eager than before, he reached for the next present. It was a box of crayons and a few Disney coloring books.
"You... you read my letter?"
"You have another present, Jack."
Jack reached for the last present and unwrapped it. It was a photo album. He opened it and saw many pictures of Daniel and himself together. He bit his lip to keep from getting over emotional.
"Danny... thank you." He grabbed Daniel and pulled him into a hug.
"This is the best Christmas ever," he whispered before his mouth was covered by Daniel's lips.
"Let's make it even better," Daniel mumbled into his mouth. Coffee and hot cocoa set beside and forgotten, Daniel pulled Jack to his feet and dragged him to the bedroom.
"Oh Daniel... you're what I wanted this Christmas. So I guess there is a Santa."
"Yes Jack, there is a Santa Claus."
THE END